Dr. Yousrey ElSharkawi, Chairman of the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association, met this morning with Mr. Constantino Chwenga, Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Minister of Health of Zimbabwe, and his accompanying delegation from the Ministries of Trade and Industry, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense, Education, Investment Authority, Trade Authority, In the presence of the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Cairo, and Mr. Mohamed Sabah, Vice-head of the International Trade Committee of the Egyptian African Businessmen Association.
The meeting discussed ways of cooperation between the Egyptian and Zimbabwean private sectors, and how efforts can be combined to double the volume of trade exchange between the two countries, which does not exceed $20 million, which does not reflect the volume of cooperation, historical relations, and continental and regional trade agreements between the two countries.
The Vice-President of the Republic of Zimbabwe reviewed the great commercial and investment opportunities in the fields of agriculture and animal production, mining, tourism, and the country’s political stability, natural resources, and tourist destinations, calling on Egyptian and African businessmen to direct trade and investment in his country, stressing that the country has There is a strong tendency to seek the help of Egyptian expertise in the fields of energy, infrastructure, and construction. Zimbabwe now has very good cultivation of important crops such as cotton, and white and yellow corn can also be cultivated for the needs of African markets and for the manufacture of fodder.
The Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe emphasized the historical relations between countries, and his personal sponsorship of the exchange of trade missions and delegations between countries, which is high time to benefit from the wealth and resources of the continent, stressing his invitation to the President of the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association and members of the association to visit Harare next August, and start immediately In preparation for it, it aims primarily to explore, introduce and get acquainted with trade and investment opportunities between the private sectors of the two countries.
For his part, Dr. Yousrey El-Sharkawi expressed his deep thanks to the State of Zimbabwe and for inviting this important meeting, and stressed that Egypt, in accordance with the directives of the President of the Republic, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is taking serious steps to enhance joint cooperation with African brothers, and we present our role as a business organization that works with the business community in Africa in all economic sectors, covering all trade and investment axes and linking the African private sector to each other in a way that accelerates the pace of inter-trade and investment in the continent.
El-Sharkawi pointed out that the African private sector needs more meetings and gatherings to open horizons for acquaintance and the definition of our capabilities and wealth, and that these meetings, although late, opportunities are still fully available in various fields, including building bridges of trust between the private sector community, and these bridges can be crossed to Places and points of trade and sustainable expansion of investment.
El-Sharkawi expressed his gratitude for this level of interest from the Zimbabwean side, praising the efforts of official diplomacy in both countries, and that the Egyptian private sector is looking forward to African regions that have mineral resources to work in the gold and diamond sectors, and that there are serious Egyptian investors looking for opportunities for official work in the fields of refineries. Gold is with African governments and the private sector, and we are also looking to import many raw materials and agricultural crops entering as feed ingredients from some African countries, but we want more information about the mechanisms of entering the markets, the entry and exit of funds, tax and customs systems, energy prices, land and licenses, and the completion of business in an atmosphere far from Bureaucracy and work in peace and security.
El-Sharkawi stressed the necessity of launching new initiatives for trade that ends with industrialization between African countries, as well as initiatives adopted by ministries of tourism and tourism companies to support tourism between African countries. The two parties agreed to launch a tourism initiative entitled “From the Great Pyramid – to Victoria between Cairo and Harare.” Official diplomacy in countries to discuss revitalization and implementation of this initiative from the private sector.
At the end of the meeting, the two sides expressed their deep thanks to both the Egyptian and Zimbabwean presidents, and the heads of government in the two countries. The head of the Egyptian-African Businessmen Association extended his deep thanks to the State of Zimbabwe for its important stances on the fateful issues that concern the Egyptian country in various fields.